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Another pension fund in trouble !

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  • Another pension fund in trouble !

    This fund covers the Detroit area ( southeast Michigan ) Carpenters and Millwights.

    Union pension fund to slash benefits to avoid insolvency
    The pension fund for the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights has filed a plan with the U.S. Treasury Department to reduce retirement payments for up to 19,600 Southeast Michigan union members and retirees in a bid to stave off insolvency.

    The Detroit Carpenters' Pension Trust Fund reported a funding level of 34.8 percent on May 1, 2018, as actuaries for the employer-sponsored pension plan have projected it will run out of money by 2034 without a reduction in benefits.

    The carpenters' union, whose pension fund has $772 million in assets, is the biggest labor union in Michigan to seek cuts in pension benefits under the Multi-Employer Reform Act. The 2014 federal law requires multi-employer union pension funds to cut benefits if they're projected to be insolvent within 20 years.
    https://www.crainsdetroit.com/financ...oid-insolvency

  • #2
    Re: Another pension fund in trouble !

    I must be missing something here because those are some wild numbers. The funding level dropped 77% from 120% to 34.8% in only 18 years. But that 34.8% of required funds is enough to last another 15 years. They must be projecting quite a few retirees dying in the next 15 years. And a cut of only 16% will add another 5 years to the fund

    The 2014 federal law requires multi-employer union pension funds to cut benefits if they're projected to be insolvent within 20 years.
    I thought by amending ERISA with the 2014 Act allows, not requires, funds to cut benefits.

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    • #3
      Re: Another pension fund in trouble !

      Since I titled this thread, "Another pension fund in trouble" here is one I am somewhat shocked to hear. You might think this wouldn't happen to this fund, but nothing is sacred anymore, even with the church.

      'Why Is There Nothing Left?' Pension Funds Failing At Catholic Hospitals
      For 24 years, Karen Bradley worked as a nurse at St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady, N.Y. The pay wasn't great, she says, but it was a good hospital, the place where her father once worked as a pharmacist. Bradley thought that if she stayed she'd have a nice pension for retirement.
      Bradley, 56, is one of the hundreds of workers at St. Clare's, which was founded by the Catholic Church, who lost their pensions after its retirement fund collapsed.
      The case highlights a more widespread problem: Because of a loophole, many religious organizations are not covered by a federal guarantee that protects most other workers' pensions, so the workers can get left with nothing.
      But religious organizations, such as Catholic hospitals, can opt out and avoid the expense of paying that insurance and complying with other federal rules aimed at making sure pensions are adequately funded and insured.
      That's what the people managing St. Clare's Hospital did. So there is no guarantee, and many of its workers really are left with nothing.
      https://www.npr.org/2019/10/03/76351...olic-hospitals

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      • #4
        Re: Another pension fund in trouble !

        Originally posted by fxstc07 View Post
        Since I titled this thread, "Another pension fund in trouble" here is one I am somewhat shocked to hear. You might think this wouldn't happen to this fund, but nothing is sacred anymore, even with the church.

        'Why Is There Nothing Left?' Pension Funds Failing At Catholic Hospitals




        https://www.npr.org/2019/10/03/76351...olic-hospitals
        I'm not sure what is going on with Catholic hospitals. We had a few in Albuquerque and they are all gone. Only one left in Santa Fe, and this in a very Catholic state.

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        • #5
          Re: Another pension fund in trouble !

          I got a call last night from a friend who now drives for Shop Rite. Wizard knows him and he is usually accurate with his pension information. He said that the Local 641 MEPF is sending out letters say there will be a 30% cut to pensions and the cancellation of the 13th check in 2020. And in 2021 they will be taken over by the PBGC meaning another 35% cut to retirees. I'm not sure on how it can be done this way. Has anyone heard about this?

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          • #6
            Re: Another pension fund in trouble !

            The Ohio Public Employees Retirement fund is cutting healthcare benefits. These cuts affect 500,000 people.
            We need a healthcare plan that helps everyone and stops these healthcare companies from bankrupting people because they got sick.

            OPERS board votes 9-2 to cut retirement health-care benefits for 500,000-plus
            Retired public employees will have to pay more for their health care starting in January 2022 following a 9-2 vote Wednesday by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System board.
            “The basic problem is we have no money to fund health care,” OPERS Executive Director Karen Carraher said.
            The health care trust fund, which is separate from the pension fund, will last 11 years with no additional funding. But OPERS’ analysts estimate it will be at least 15 years before the pension fund can resume setting aside money for the health fund.
            “So, obviously, the math doesn’t work,” Carraher said.
            The goal, she said, is to keep the health care trust fund solvent, and that means cutting health benefits for its 304,000 workers when they retire and 213,000 current retirees.
            https://www.dispatch.com/news/202001...or-500000-plus

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